Machine for mixing or masticating rubber and like material



- Jan 6, 1931. D. R; BOWEN ETAL 1,787,507

MACHINE FOR MIXING OR MASTICATING. RUBBER AND LIKE I'IERIAL Filed Jan. iv, 1927 2 sneetsneat 1 W \w /7//l Jan 6, 1931. D. R. BovwEN E1' Ax. 1,787,507

MACHINE FOR MIXING OR MASTICATING RUBBER AND LIKE MATERIAL FiledJan. 17, 1927 2 sheets-sheet 2 IYI/ 5 I EL z Patented Jan. 6', 1,9731I unirse stares.;

DAVIDn. Bowan, onANsonIn, nain ennui". scniindnjon HAVEN', CONNECTICUT,-

.assrenona mi Mnsnnassrennnnrsfm nelegantei3Inninonnivi coMPANmIN- coanonafrnn, on Armonie..oomfnciioufnfn conrona'iroltor GONN-ECTICUT,

MAoHiNnroaMIXiNG on Mnsfrronrrnenmnnn ann LIKE :MATERIAL Applicationiuedfamiry13,1927( semaine. 161,624-, Y

AThis yinvention .relates `to. machines for Ytreating rubber and'. similar material,fandto a smooth, uniform and plastic mass,v a

mixture jot' rubber' chunks ot' various sizes,-r pieceso't tar and filling or coloring materialin powdered form, although it will be .ob-f

vious that the 'invention is notr limited t0 this particular use but will be applicable to machines for mixing or' masticating variousV kinds' of plastic material. This application isacentinuation in part ot our application Serial No. 507,961 ledy October 15, 1921, which has matured 'into Patent No. 1,623,159,'April 5^, 1927;

Machines Otthis `character are ygenerally provided with Va mixing chamber andy rotary power driven element mounted in the chamber ormixing or masticating the charge'by pressing and smearing it against thechamber walls while at the same .time

working the charge around the periphery of the chamber and propelling it from one end to the othein In some machines of' this characterdiiiiculty has been encountered by reason ofthe slippage of the masson the interior surface of the "wall ofV the mixing chamber, for it will be obvious 'that if the massl slides freely on the chamber wall and" moves around with the rotor without the vlatter doing much eiective work thereon in theway ot forcing' powder into the rubber, or' smearing thejlatter against the chamber rwalfl, the length of time required to reduce' of the machine will be turther increased.

' One object ot this invention is to provide A a mixer of such construction that the charge r willfbeedectively squeezed against the wall of :the `chamber asf .well kas,worked and smeared out thereover, yso as; to eHecti-vely mixfrand'knead it, and in addition, will be prevented from slipping freely. about the chamber aheadotthe rotor.

rubber whichis. being Voperated upon will be repeatedlyr squeezed or ground against thel chamber-wall by the rotor at avplurality of places longitudinally ofthe chamber.

5- Another'object of the invention isfto construct pa Vrubber -niasticating machine of im provedY character `and increased `etiiciency by providingior a varied amount ofclearance at a number; of places along thelength of the chamber, between the bladesof they rotor andthe lchamber Wall;

A still `further object of the yinventionv A To thesefandjother ends,'th1e invention con- .Another object ot the invention isto proV vide ya rubber mixer wherein'l the mass of.

si'sts in the novel features and combination of parts to be hereinafter describedand claimed.

principles of our invention;

yli'g; 3 is a sectionalview of the'mixing chamber-shown in, Fig. 2, with the rotor omitted; f

' Fig. llis' ing modified 'form of thefinventi'on;

Fig. l5 is a sectional view of a mixing chamber,'showing a invention; Y

`Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5,V with the rotor omitted;V i

Y Aliig. 7'is a view similar to` Fig. 6, showin-g a further 'modiicationg further modified .i'orml of the a'view similarto Fig; 3, but show- *Y VFig. '8 isa sectional yview on line 8448 of Fig. 7,but'including the rotor; p

p Fig; 9 isa view of a modified `form ofthe rotor shown in Fig.4 1. Y p p' in order to illustrate the principles ofthe ber of generally cylindrical shape, mountv invention, We have shown a rubber working machine'having ya horizontal mixing chamed between suitable standards orend frames 21, having heads 22'which closeV the cylinders at the .respective ends. The end frames and the body portion lof the cylinder may be conveniently interconnected by the bolts 23. A

rotary mixing element24 isV provided withinL the' mixingicha'mber upon a horizontal rshaft 25, with'bearingsQG and 27 in the respective.' cylinderheads. Suitable packing glands 28k and 29 may be provided tov prevent an'ylealrage of portions of the -charge about the ends of the rotor shaft.Y

That portion'of the rotor within the chamber-is provided with al plurality of Vblades 30 for mixing or'lrneading the materialwhichnn this lnstance", 1s, charged into theY cylinder through the end charging opening or hopper 31. .As illustrated in Fig. l, these blades are arranged'so that the materialinjone end of the chamber. is picked VupA and while being forcibly pressed and worked against the -inner periphery of the chamber wall, is :moved towardv andrp'ast thelcenter ofthe chamber and into the other.endiportionthereoh while -simultaneouslythe'material in the last named end'is similarly worked against the periphery of the Vchamber and moved in a reverse direction: The blades as shown in thisfigure extend substantially 'throughout the length of the rotor, so that the material: is moved from one end of the chamber to a point adj acentY theopposite end whereitis picked up by the following blade. Y Y f :The working chamber -offthe machiney shown, is divided longitudinally into sections, one section 32'being fixed relatively to the '.heads, andthe other section `33 being hinged or pivotedto the irst at 34, and designed to be swung aboutits hinge inisuch a manner as to provide for the discharge'of the mate'` Y rial at the bottom of the chamber. yA vsuittion, asno claim is made specifically thereto.

` It has sometimes occurred that when it has been attempted to masticate a Ebatch Aof rubberin a chamber havinga smooth Wall, slip-V page of the ycharge-about the chamber in ad-I vance, of the-rotor yoccurs to such an extent that anreective smearing action upon 4the chamber wall'sis not obtained. We have discovered, however, thatY where the interior surface or 'face' of the chamber is properlyv formed, this slipping action can Vloe prevented and therevalso can be obtained an effective squeezing or crunching action of the mass ofl material between the rotor; and chamber at a yquired `for Ythe vvmixing operation.

number of points along the length and upon the periphery of the chamber, which will greatly increase the eiiiciency of the machine and correspondingly shorten the time re- To this end,rin thel embodiment offour invention shown in Figs". l to 8', we have shown a chamber having corrugations upon `the interior sur- Y Y vface of the'wallthereof. .These'corrugations are forrrredbyf a plurality o f-'generally transversely extending ribs 37, whichproject inwardly. toward theirotor andk between which f lie corresponding grooves 'or valleys 2 8. In'

`"the formrshown in this igure,the plane ofthe ribs and-valleys is substantially tranverse to the 4rotor axis. As theV ribs Vor-ridges 37 project inwardly toward the rotor, the clearance 'space between the'rotor blades and the chamber'wall will be substantiallyreduced at the points where these ribs are formed, theV grooves, however, beingl relativelyy shallow so that there will be no tendency for parts ofl thematerial to be caught and remain stationarythereimand avoid being, mixed withthe [rest of thejcharge... Theribsfhave rounded outer surfaces so that a Vsubstantial part of these surfaces will-be' opposed to the rotor blades.` It will beapparent'thatthefmass of the materialv when it is .being carriedV fromY one end of the chamber tothe other in its passage around the chamber, will, when it is brought into contactwith one of t-he protruding ribs or ridges, be squeezed vor pressed and crunched against the ridge by the rotor blades with-the `result that therubber mass willvbe effectively Aspread out.. and squeezed, vandthe powdered coloring mattereffectively groundV and pressed intoit, the particles being so thoroughly redistributed that ahomogeneous, plastic mass is obtained in a relatively' short time. yMoreover, as the Vgrooves extend in a transverse directionl relatively to the rotor blades, there will be no tendency for the bladesto merely work the; material around the grooves without forcing it lengthwise of the chamber; In addition, as the material is being movedlengthwise of the chamber, the ribs will oppose fand preventany tendency of the material to slip about the inner surface of 'the chamber, andan intensive wedging action will be produced between the rotor and the inwardly Aprojecting ribs,r which catch the material-and hold it back to some extent so that the rotor blades may exert a relatively strongL pressurey upon it. l Moreover, the. .L

for a grindingd actionbetweenthe tip of the bla-'deand the* chamber wall, andresults in a4 redistribution of thepartrcles in' amuch more thorough and etcient manner than when the' y or lessl transverse to thev rrotor blade'soithat a similar intensive wedgin'g action of the may terial between the rotor blade and the cham.- ber Wallis produced, and likewise, the slip-v page ofthe materialiabout the chamber is effectively prevented. In Figs. 5 and 6 oi:`

the drawings, we have shown a further modiiication wherein the mixing chamber is provided with an intermediate extrusion rib 4l. ln this case, the rotor is provided'with relatively short blades .42, extending from the ends of the chamber to the extrusion-rib, so v that the charge isv moved from one end ot the chamber to andk past the extrusion rib, and thrown over into the other end where it is picked up by another blade and moved in the reverse direction. In this case, the blades "are, staggered upon the rotor relativelyrto each other, so that the material released by one blade' will be immediately picked up and acted upon by the .following blade.v Each cud ot the chamber, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, is provided with a plurality'ot annular ribs 43 and valleys 44, which extend in a generally transverse direction j around the chamber,

ywhich in this instance, is lilzewisefot cylindrical shape, the direction oi the ribs and grooves being` inclined to some extent, however, relatively to the axi s of the rotor. lli/lore-v over, the ribs in one end o' the chamber are 'inclined oppositely to those in the other end',

so that they will lie at substantially the same angle relatively to the movement ot the material, as it will-be apparent that in this instance, the material in one end ot the chamber is moved in a direction opposite to that in the other end. ln Figs. 7 andS, ot the drawings, is shown a further modification wherein the mixing` chamber is provided in addition to the extrusion rib 45, with a plurality of ribs 49 extending longitudinally thereof parallel to the chamber axis, and a number of relatively large projecting ridges 50, extending generally around the chamber wall but not forming complete circular ribs. Each rib 50,- as shown, is substantially sencicircular in form and is inclined to some tent relatively to the chamber axis. It will Y A o a, chamber, and abladed-zrotor to'work thegsw.

be apparent that inthis instance, the tendthe ribs and the vrotor blades.

ency of the material slip u-ponithe cham-1 ini'Fig. l. `lnthisinstance,=theblades 51 do' not' extend throughout the length of theI chamber, but terminate at substantially the central portion thereof, so that the material is released-by lthe blade inv one end of the chamberfto be lpicked up by the. following blade in the oppositeendzof the chamber; .The

blades, in this instance, are arranged in staggered relation upon theZ rotor.` It' will be understood, of course, that theV annular extrusion yrib shown' in Figs. 5, 6 and' 7, of the drawingsfmay or may not be used with vany of the forms ot theprojecting or protruding ridges upon the chamber walls. Itwi'll also be apparent that in all forms of the invention shown, thereis :provided a'masticatingand mixing devi ce which will produce a peculiar'- ly effective and intensive wedging actionupon the batch or" material being treated, which will result in afrapid reduction ofl the charge to a homogeneous plastic: mass.`

y Vhile weha've shown anddescribed some preferred embodiments of our invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to thek forms shown, but is capable of `modification and. variationlwithin the spirit of the invention and within the scope vof the ap# pended claims.' l' f l fVVhat we claim isz;vr f Y f 11A rubbermixing machinecomprising a chamber, a bl'adedrotor to work the'material back and forthwithin the chamber, said chamber yhaving ribs on its inner surfacepro- 1 jecting toward the-rotor,- and said; ribsv eX- tendingv about thel chamber in a direction generally transversefto the rotor axis and being disposed oppositethe rotor blades.

2. Arubbermixing machine comprising achamber having a curved inner wall, and a rotor having blades to work the material lengthwise of thechamber in opposite direc-y tions-'and smear `it upon the chamber wall,

said jwall having rounded,transversely extending,1 inwardly projecting `ribs upc-n it-s inner surface, opposite the rotor blades;A o

o rubber mixing machine' comprising -a' chamber, and a bladed rotor to work the material back and forth within said cham ber, and elongated ribs on .the inner surface of.' the chamber wall opposite the blades of the rotor and extending generally trans- `verselyto the rotor axis, the rotorblades bei'ngarranged to work the materialv over said ribs lengthwise ot the chamber to bring about an intensive wedging action between 4. -A rubber mixing machine comprising Y material back and forth therein, said chamf berY comprisinga single cylinder having up-Y on its inner surface elongated ribs project-4 ing ,towardthe rotor and extending in a generally transverse direction across the rotorx blades, and saidrotor blades being arranged to'work the materialv over said ribs lengthwise of the chamber to bring about an i-ntenV sive wedging action betweenihe ribs and the rotor blades.v

5. A rubber mixing ymachine comprising a kchamber having a transversely Acurved and Vcorrugated inner'suriia'ce, vand a rotor in the chamber havingblades lextending across said' .corrugationsiand adapted to work the mate- "rial back and forth in the chamber over said y corrngations. f l Y 6. A Arubber lmixing machine having cylmdrical chamber, said chamber-'having relatively shallow corrugatlons on its inner l surface extending inta direction generally transverse to its axis, and a rotor in the cham-V ber. having blades extending across said oorsaid rotor being arrangedto work the charge A rug'ations adaptedv to work the. material backy d and forth over said corrugations.

Y 7.. A rubber mixing .machine Y havingv a 'terial is worked in n 1 1. A rubber working machine having a" 'mixing chamber and a rotor operatively inounted therein an intermediate extrusion riby upon the chamber, wall, and said chamber being providedon its Working face on one side of said rib with elongated generally transversely extendingmembers to vary the .clearance between the working-'face of the V'chamber rand the rotor. Y i,

side, of the rib and extending generally transversely'of the chamber across which the maitspassage toward the intermediate rib. v

.In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands, thislthv day of Jannary,1927.

. DAVID n. Bowen.

, CARL r. soHNUcK.

chamber of cylindrical shape, a bladed rotor l therein, and ribs upon the inner wall of the chamber opposite therotor blades and extending generallyvtransversely of the chamber axis and projecting toward'the rotor, and

over said: ribs lengthwise of the chamber in bothvr directions. Y A n 8. A rubber mixing machine having `a chamber with a substantially, continuous transversely curved inner surface, a bladed rotor to vwork the Vmaterial Aback and forth versely of the chamben upon said surface, and` elongatedtinwardly protruding members .formed vupon the surface opposite an intermediate'portion of the rotor'blades vand extending Vgenerally trans- Y 9. A rubber mixing machine having a mix- *A ingchamber, and a bladed rotor operatively -mounted therein to work the material lengthwise thereof in` opposite directions, said chamber having, upon its workingqace, .f

elongated, generally transversely extending,`

inwardly projecting members to vary Athe j clearance between the working facegandxthe rotorV blades.

10. Arubberfmixing machine havingaV mixing chamber with a curved working snrace, and a bladed rotor operatively mounti ed. within the chamber to work the material llengthwise:thereof and smear it upon. the

chamber. walls, and inwardly kprotruding members extending peripherally along the innercurvedy surfaceof the chamber wall in a direction generally transverse to the rotor axis to'vary the clearance betweenv the chamber wall and the rotor blades, said rotor blades' workingthe material longitudinally of `the chamberin bothdirections. w

lle 

